Legal Guardian
by nareboshi
Summary: AU. Police Officer Sasuke Uchiha has always thought his job as monotonous. But when he becomes the legal guardian of Naruto Uzumaki, he soon finds it's much more interesting that he thought possible. Implied NaruSasu/SasuNaru
1. Case Opened

This is my first fanfiction, so it will probably suck like hell.

This concept was mainly thought up at school, during freeblock, (in the mandarin room TAT). My good friend participated quite a bit in it's creation.

I own nothing, except the story, which saddens me.

--

File 1: Case opened

_Glass walls. That's what surrounds me. I see everything, but in the end I'm just a spectator. I never get involved. That is my world. A world with only me in it. Only me._

--

"Remind me what the specifics of the crash were again?" The raven haired police officer looked over at his underling. "Haruno!"

"Ah! Oh, um," stuttered the pink haired girl as she fumbled with the papers on her clipboard, dropping some. "Well, um, they're..." More papers fluttered to the ground.

Sasuke sighed.

"Never mind," he muttered as he stalked off, leaving the embarrassed Sakura scrambling to pick the sheets of paper off the floor. Sasuke hated weakness.

As Sasuke walked to the main office of the police station a few low ranking officers tried to catch his attention and get him to sign various forms and waivers, but he waved them aside. Trash didn't deserve his time.

After a couple of these rude rejections, the crowd that filled the room started to dissipate, and Sasuke was able to see to the main offices where a lone figure sat, curled up on the wooden bench under the tinted windows.

Sasuke walked up to the bench and surveyed the blonde boy. He was drenched to the bone and could only stop himself from shivering by holding tightly onto his legs.

"Hey," the officer said. "You're Naruto, huh?"

The blonde stirred and looked up. Sapphire eyes looked into onyx ones.

_He looks just like a lost, drowned cat_, Sasuke thought.

Almost resignedly he shrugged off his jacket and dropped it over the youth's shoulders.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at the kind gesture. So far that day no one had so much as even asked him how he was after the car crash.

"Thankyou," he said, his voice slightly muffled by the jacket.

Sasuke scowled, then dropped to a crouch so that his eyes were level with the boy's sapphire ones. Though he wasn't really a boy, he noted, now that he could really see him. He didn't look much younger than Sasuke himself, albeit Sasuke was only 18 despite his looks and police badge.

"So what happened this morning in the crash," Sasuke asked. The other's eyes hardened at the mention of the car crash, although he did notice that the officer hadn't even tried to feign concern for him. He liked that. What he hated was liars.

"Not much," replied Naruto, his voice even. "My dad was driving us to the airport, but something jumped out and spooked him so we crashed."

"We? Who else was in the car?"

"My mum, Kushina. We were moving because of my dad's job." Sasuke nodded, he'd read that much in the file, but somehow, hearing it from Naruto made it make more sense.

"How did you get so wet?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked down at himself. "Oh. It was raining." Sasuke was slightly surprised at such a short reply, but he said nothing of it and instead stood up and patted the blonde on the head.

"C'mon. Time to go see what's going to happen to you," the raven said, indicating the office behind Naruto. He nodded and got up off the bench. Standing, he was almost as tall as Sasuke, though his hair made up some of it.

Sasuke walked over to the door of the office and opened it. He held it open while Naruto walked inside, he then followed, lightly shutting the door behind him.

Inside the office it was chaos. Papers were being shifted here and there, a phone and many other mobiles were ringing off the hook. People were running to and fro getting other papers printed and signed. It was truly mayhem.

Sasuke lead Naruto toward the back of this massive room that held many offices that were dived by just a wall. At the back of the room were a series of doors that lead to more, smaller offices that actually had real walls. These were for the superior.

Stopping in front of the door in the middle, Sasuke briskly knocked on the door and waited to be admitted.

After a few moments the door opened, revealing a young lady dressed in a maids outfit, complete with feather duster. She had long, dark purple hair that was cut just above her pale eyes.

"Oh, Hinata," Sasuke said as he saw her. "Is Kakashi in?"

"Y-yes," the girl stammered. Hinata glanced over Sasuke's shoulder to see who the blonde youth behind him was. When she saw him, she gasped.

"Naruto?!" She looked deathly pale.

"Huh?" Responded Naruto. "Oh, I know you. You sit behind me in Biology, right?"

Blushing immensely, Hinata only nodded, not trusting her own voice, Sasuke mused. He coughed waking Hinata out of her daze and reminding where she was.

"Ah, oh, sorry," she stuttered as she made way for the two of them to enter. Inside this office, Captain Kakashi's office to be exact, the atmosphere was much calmer though still a tad hectic. In the centre of the room was a large desk with mountains of paper a top it. Behind the desk was a large book case with many book of questionable maturity. This was Kakashi Hatake's office.

In the chair behind the desk sat the man himself. Kakashi looked up at Sasuke and Naruto's entrance.

"Yo."

Ignoring the greeting, Sasuke strode forward and examined the files on the desk. He picked up one particularity large manila folder and flipped it open. Inside were pictures of the car crash. Bits of car and broken glass were strewn all over the place. He turned a page. The next was worse.

Sasuke snapped the folder closed and looked up as Sakura slipped in the door, carrying yet more manila files to his dismay.

"Kakashi." The grey haired officer looked up from his desk.

"Oh," he said, "right." Kakashi turned to Naruto. "You're Naruto Uzumaki, right?"

The blonde nodded, slightly intimidated by so many law enforcers in the same room.

"Now," Kakashi continued, "here's the problem." He flipped open another file and looked at its contents. "You have no living relatives."

Sasuke looked up at this and Sakura sidled up to him.

"Sounds like someone I know," she whispered in his ear. Sasuke flinched and moved away.

"Shut it," he replied.

At this exchange, Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but said nothing of it, and instead continued with his briefing with Naruto.

"So when it all comes down to it," Kakashi said, "You're going to have to stay with one of the officers here before we can find somewhere to put you." Naruto twitched at the word 'somewhere' but said nothing. "Sasuke."

"Yes sir."

"You're going to be Naruto's temporary legal guardian." Kakashi turned back in his chair and continued what he had been doing before.

"What? Why me?"

"Why?" Kakashi said, looking up again, "Because I said so." The man looked down again, causing Sasuke's temper to rise considerably.

"Fine," Sasuke said, scowling. He turned back from the table and opened the door. "Let's go, Naruto."

"Ah, oh, right," Naruto said, quickly following. The door shut behind them and Sakura rounded on Kakashi.

"KAKASHI!"

"What?"

"AHHH!" The girl slammed the table in frustration. This lead to a one-sided argument. In the corner Hinata smiled as she thought back at Naruto, a light pink blush on her cheeks.

"Naruto-kun..."


	2. Getting Settled

* * *

Ownership as stated on the first chapter. I think Karen is quite out of character in this chapter since she used to be Ino (and before that it was Karen). It's kind of awkward since I haven't gotten my friend to beta read it. I hope it's good!

* * *

File 2: Getting Settled

The lock on the door clicked and the door opened, admitting Sasuke and Naruto. The former fiddled with the keys till they came out of the lock then walked into his studio flat. The later followed suit, though much more tense. In his hands, he tightly held an old backpack partially filled with clothes and other necessities that Naruto had picked up at his house right before coming here.

"Oh, you can put you can come in, you know," the raven said, making his way to the kitchen to make some drinks.

"Ah, yea," Naruto stuttered, only just noticing that he was still standing in the door way. He stepped in. "Sorry to disturb," he muttered as he closed the door behind him and twitched one of the locks into place.

He turned and found that Sasuke had returned from the kitchen and was now holding two steaming cups of tea. He held one out to the blonde.

"Thank you."

The two stood in silence.

"So, uh," Naruto started, "where should I put my stuff?" At this, Sasuke looked around his small apartment, considering the question. _Where _should_ he put his stuff?_ He wondered.

"Um, you can put it where you like," he said in the end. Naruto nodded and dropped his bag next the the couch that sat in the middle of the room. The room itself housed few personal belongings, including a couch, a table, a few chairs, and an open kitchen. Naruto saw no bed in the room.

"Where do you sleep?" Naruto said suddenly, accidentally letting his thoughts slip out.

"I usually sleep on the couch," the raven replied. _And where's Naruto going to sleep?_ He suddenly thought. The couch was taken. _We could _both _sleep on the couch_, said a small voice in Sasuke's head. _What the hell? No way!_ He cheecks reddened and he turned away so that the blonde would not see it. He wished he could go to another room, but that was the problem with a studio flat. There was only one room.

Hoping that the blush had died down, Sasuke turned back. He found that the blonde was now sitting on the couch, hunched forward, his face obscured.

"You're investigating the crash right, Sasuke," he said.

"Yeah."

"You're going to want to know what happened in detail, aren't you?"

Sasuke was surprised by this question. In fact it sounded more like an order than a request. And either way, he had no idea of how to answer it. He shrugged.

"You're the only witness, so I supose it'll be a must." The blonde nodded and Sasuke noticed that his shoulders were shaking under his jacket.

Worried, Sasuke dropped down in front of him, trying to see his face. He put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Oy! You okay?" Sasuke said, his voice strained with concern. Slightly surprised at this, Naruto looked up. There were tears streaming down his face.

"Oh, god," Sasuke whispered, pulling the blonde's head into his chest while using his other hand to pat Naruto's back. Shaking hands clung to Sasuke's shirt as sobs racked through Naruto's body.

"It's okay. It's okay," the raven whispered, rubbing the blonde's back.

After a while, the sobs died down and only the only movements from the blonde's body was the beat of his heart. Gently, Sasuke tilted his head to find that Naruto had fallen asleep. There were still a few lines of worry on his face, but on the whole, his face looked the picture of peaceful sleep.

Sasuke sighed inwardly and lowered Naruto to the couch, laying him long ways. He then took up a blanket from a chair and lay it out over the blonde. Then, standing, he walked over to his bag and withdrew some of the files inside it. He walked back to the the couch and sat down in front of it, his back against the foot of the sofa. He flipped open the file and started reading.

--

A knock at the door woke the sleeping raven.Sasuke rubbed his eyes and looked around. He was half slumped at the foot of the couch with papers spilling all around him. The door bell rang again and Sasuke cursed under his breath, not wanting to wake Naruto who was still sleeping on the couch, and got up to answer the door.

With unmeasurable experience, Sasuke flicked the locks on the door and twisted the handle, opening it. Outside was an out of breath Hinata, clasping a stack of papers to her chest while holding more in the bag that hung off her arm.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked the girl. She looked shocked at this abrupt question, then looked down, blushing.

"I came here to bring Naruto the school work he missed." Hinata shuffled her feet, deliberating whether she should ask or not. She decided she would. "Can I come in?"

"Huh," came out of Sasuke's mouth before he could stop it. "Ah, sure," he said quickly, opening the door bigger so that she could come in. _Arg, can't she just leave the stuff and go?_ He thought irritably. The raven was always cranky when rudely awakened from a nap. He shut the door, without locking it, and turned back to Hinata.

"You're Naruto's classmate right?" Sasuke asked.

"Ah, yes," Hinata said, "I'm in a few of his classes." She smiled contently as this last part, a faint blush coming on. Sasuke didn't like this. _It's not like she has him all to himself_, he thought venomously.

"Does he know you like him?" Sasuke said, hoping to burst her bubble. It worked. The girl went completely red and looked down, her purple locks obscuring her face.

"N-no," the girl stuttered. Hinata suddenly riffled in her bag and drew out a pile of papers, and long with the others she had been holding, she held out the huge stack to Sasuke. "P-please give these to Naruto. The due dates are written on them." She quickly scuttled to the door and opened it. "Thank you for allowing me in." Hinata then ran out the door.

"Oof!" said a female voice outside of the door. "Oh, it's you Hinata!" Sasuke opened the door and looked out at the two girls on the floor. The taller, red haired girl looked up. "OH! Hi Sasuke!"

"Karen, what the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke said scowling, of just about everyone in the station, Karen was one of the ones he hated the most. Her and everyone else. _Except Naruto_, said the small voice. _Shut it._

"Kakashi wants you to come in. He says he found something out about the crash," Karen said helping Hinata up. The smaller girl flinched, but allowed herself to be pulled up.

"I do have a phone you know," replied Sasuke, still in a bad mood.

"It's off," Karen said smugly, jiggling her own phone. "I tried it."

_Oh right_, Sasuke thought. _Crap._

"I guess you can't take a hint then, huh?" he retorted, blurting the first thing that came to mind. He then stalked back in, knowing that Karen would follow no matter when he did. He was right. But he hadn't counted on her dragging Hinata back with her. This was definitely not his day.

"Whah!" exclaimed Karen as she came in, looking around the place. "It hasn't changed at all!" She ran her hand over the table. Karen then exclaimed outloud again making Sasuke flinch.

"He's so cute!" the girl said as she looked at Naruto. "Just like a little cat, with those whiskers!"

"Shut up!" Sasuke hissed. "You'll wake him!" Hinata nodded vigorously.

"Fine," Karen said, changing the volume of her voice only slightly. "So are you coming down to the station or what?" Sasuke scratched the back of his head. He didn't really want to go. He'd rather stay at home and sleep. He'd been having allnighters far too often for his tastes.

"Will you leave me alone after that?" he asked, not expecting a truthful answer. Either way, he'd still end up having to go to the station, no matter what he did now.

"Maybe...," Karen said thoughtfully, still holding Hinata's wrist so that she was unable to scuttle away. "Only if you bring Naru-chan with you!"

"Wah?! No! He needs to sleep," Sasuke chided. _And don't call him 'Naru-chan'!_ He could tell Hinata was thinking something along the same lines, her face was flushed with contained anger but Karen took no notice.

"No, it's alright," said a small voice from behind Sasuke. He looked around and found that Naruto had woken up and was now rubbing the sleep, _and tears_ thought Sasuke, out of his eyes. "I'll come," Naruto said, with deep conviction. "I have to help out as much as I can."

"Naruto..."

"Great! We can take my car!" Karen said joyfully. She then turned and skipped out the door, still dragging Hinata with her. Sasuke sighed.

"That girl..." he said to himself and behind him Naruto laughed.

"Who is she?" Naruto asked. "That Karen person."

"Oh,"the raven replied, "she's just Kakashi's secretary.

"I see." Sasuke looked at Naruto. He seemed to be completely different from the Naruto that was crying just earlier, yet, now that he knew it was there, Sasuke could nearly see that other self lurking beneath the blonde's happy exterior. "What?" Naruto asked.

"Do you want a change of clothes? You're still wearing the ones that got soaked." Naruto looked down at himself.

"Yeah, you're right," he replied. "I suppose you want this back huh?" he added, twitching the police jacket Sasuke had put on him earlier that day.

"Oh, no. You can keep that," Sasuke said. The blondes face lit up instantly.

"Thanks!" Naruto then bounded off the couch and, grabbing his bag, he hastened to the bathroom to change. Sasuke smiled. Soon, Naruto threw open the door again. He was now wearing a polo shirt and jeans. And he was still wearing the jacket.

"C'mon," he said as he grabbed Sasuke's arm and led him to the door.

"Okay, okay," the raven said, picking up his keys. The two then walked out of the door, Sasuke locking the door behind them.

* * *

This second chapter went a bit fast I think since I want to get to the juicy part faster. Lol. I'll try to keep the chapters coming, but there's always school, althoug I do have a nice long holiday coming up, so there might be an update then.


	3. Inkling of the Truth

To me, this seemed a rather short chapter. I hope it's alright. I also rewrote the outline, but there won't be any changes to the first two chapters, just a different storyline from here on, though the basic storyline is still the same. But of course, you guys never saw the original storyline. Lol. Again, I hope you enjoy.

I own only the storyline and how OOC everyone is, nothing else. The characters belong to their respective owner. Yeah.

* * *

Chapter 3:

The drive to the police station was not a fun one and by the time they got the there, Sasuke was completely convinced of his loathing of Karen and Hinata. While one was loud and obnoxious, the other was extremely quite and shy, but when she did say something, it always related back to Naruto. Whether Naruto realized this or not, Sasuke couldn't tell. Either way, it ticked him off. Badly.

"Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke said as he held up his ID card to the guard at the counter of the police station. He nodded and waved him forward. "He's with me," he added when the guard asked Naruto what he was doing there.

He opened the door for Naruto and walked through it himself, leaving Hinata and Karen outside as Karen searched for her ID card in her handbag.

For the second day in a row, Sasuke and Naruto wound their way through the throngs of people to Kakashi's office. As they neared the door, a tall woman intervened.

"I'm sorry, Superintendent Hatake is currently unavailable and he has asked me to not allow any unauthorized personnel into his private office," said Chief Inspector Kurenai. Sasuke pouted.

"Thanks. Could you tell him later that I came?" Sasuke replied as he turned back, not caring whether Kurenai gave his message or not.

"What are we going to do now?" Naruto asked as he caught up to Sasuke who was now heading out of the station.

"I'm going to go check out the crash scene," he replied, glancing at the blonde that walked beside him. "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"No, no. I have to go," Naruto retorted. "I want to help." Sasuke sighed.

"Fine." Naruto grinned. At this point, Karen, having finally found her ID card, came bustling, Hinata in tow.

"Ah, Sasuke! Did you find Kakashi?" Karen asked. Sasuke glared at her. "Fine then! I'll just go back to work!" And she stalked off, looked back over her shoulder to see what kind of an impact she had made. The damage was zero.

After nodding to Naruto and ignoring Sasuke, Hinata quickly trotted off toward Kakashi's office and Kurenai allowed her in. A maid was always welcome to clean up the Superintendent's office.

--

After returning to his flat to retrieve his car, Sasuke was now driving his car down the crowded of the main city and to the site of the crash. Naruto sat silently in the passenger's seat, observing the scenes outside of the car.

"What happened this morning?" Sasuke asked suddenly. He looked over at Naruto to see his reaction. "Sorry." Naruto look up.

"Nah, it's all right," he replied, then paused before continuing. "We were moving to America because of my dad had gotten a job offer there. The company even offered to give us a house to live in. It seemed like a good deal." Naruto smirked. "The income was pretty nice too.

"We were going to the airport today. On the way we stopped over at a cafe to have a small meal. Actually, Hinata works there part-time, we had a chat while we were there. She asked where I was going and I told her about us moving. She didn't seem too happy about it, for some reason."

_How thick can you get?_ Though Sasuke, but he said nothing and instead nodded, letting Naruto continue.

"After we finished eating, we bought some water and continued to the airport." He looked out the window again. "It was raining hard." They were now coming up to the section of road where the accident had happened. Sasuke slowed his car to a stop, pulling the keys out of the engine as he opened the door and stepped out. Naruto did the same. The blonde walked over to the dented guardrail, running his hand over it.

"A person jumped out from over there," he said, gesturing to the other side of the road where there were bushes, large enough to conceal a person. "Dad swerved and hit the guardrail here. I was unconscious for the most part. A few minutes later I came around just as another car was driving up. They were the ones that called the police." He looked back at Sasuke. "That's about it."

Sasuke nodded as he walked over to where Naruto stood and patted the blonde's back.

"You okay?"

"Mmm. Should be soon," the blonde replied, but though he grinned Sasuke could see the sadness just under the surface. Not knowing what to do, he looked up the road, back the way they had come. Back the way Minato and Kushina had come and not returned. The raven stretched out an arm, using it to trace the route they had come. He frowned. The trajectory was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"The angle is wrong," he mumbled back, still wondering why it was wrong. "If they'd driven down here," he said pointing that section of road, "and swerved at this point, the impact of the guardrail wouldn't have been that hard."

"It was raining though. The car probably slid further, faster."

"Even so, the grass here would have provided enough friction to prevent any major damage, and certainly prevent death. Which would probably also explain why you, and you alone, survived that crash."

Naruto frowned.

"So what happened then? Why did they," his voiced trailed off.

"Die?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, why did they?"

"I really don't--" Sasuke started to say, but he was interupted by his ringing phone. He flicked it open. It was Kakashi. He scowled and answered.

"Why the hell are you calling me now?" he said. He heard chuckling on the other side of the line.

"If you're mad about me not being there, well, I'm not going to apologize. What I was doing was really important to this case.," Kakashi said.

"Really? How so?"

"Why don't you and Naruto come in, and I'll tell you," the Superintendent said, laughingly.

"Hell, no," came the reply, making Kakashi laugh even more. "Why don't you just tell me now and save me the gas going to the station?" Kakashi stopped laughing and sighed.

"Fine."

He told him, and Sasuke went pale, glancing at Naruto.

"Kay, we'll be right there." Not waiting for an answer, Sasuke ended the call and flipped closed his phone.

"What is it?" asked Naruto. He'd only been able to hear part of the conversation. Sasuke paused before saying anything, trying to figure out how to say it right.

"The autopsy team found, uh, foreign agents in the bodies of your parents. Minato and Kushina survived the crash, but they were killed with poison."

* * *

How was that? Did you expect it? As I said at the beginning, it is a rather short chapter, but I'm hoping to make the tones in the future longer. Cheers.


	4. The Twist Unfolds

This chapter contains a character death. It's not one of the really main characters, but still. I think it's sad. TAT. I hope you enjoy.

All ownership as stated on the last chapters!

* * *

Chapter 4: The Twist Unfolds

"Essentially, we did the usual overall body check and we found that the actual cause of death on both cases were from acute organ failure," rattled on the pink haired officer, clearly enjoying the attention she was receiving from everyone, Sasuke in particular. Though she was technically a police constable, Sakura was truly a forensic scientist at heart and so she was taking this case to the extreme. "Due to these unexplained happenings, the team went into extreme forensic mode and we ended up finding high levels of arsenic in their hair and nails."

Sakura looked up at Sasuke, but he was looking at Naruto with an expression of concern. Sakura frowned.

"So basically, Minato and Kushina Uzumaki died of arsenic poisoning," asked Kakashi. Sakura nodded.

The group of them were standing or slouching around the pathology lab, surrounded by various slides and samples of various human beings that had been previously cut up. Having come in last, Sasuke and Naruto stood nearer the door, Naruto sitting on a backless stool. Further in, Hinata and Karen stood to attention, still holding papers they had just been previously working on. And in the centre stood Kakashi and Sakura, who was presenting the information.

"Due to the large dosages here and here," Sakura said, using a pointer to highlight one particular section of the slide, "we can be reasonably be sure that these dosages were ingested over a short period of time and not too long before the time of death."

Naruto exhaled heavily, making Sasuke look over to him. He reached out and tossed the blonde's hair.

"You alright with all this?" Sasuke whispered over to Naruto, not wanting to incur the wrath of the pink topped officer standing in the middle of the room, waving a pointer around. Naruto shook his head in an attempt to dislodge Sasuke's hand.

"I'm fine," Naruto whispered back with a lopsided grin. "I'm probably in shock right now anyway." But he liked how concerned the other was for him. "It's nice having someone worry about you," he murmured.

"What?"

"Ah, nothing," Naruto denied, a light-pink tinge appearing on his cheeks and he suddenly became very grateful of the dark lighting in the room.

"So all facts considered," Sasuke said, "this is not a case of accidental death, but of murder." Silence enveloped the room.

"I suppose you're right," Kakashi said not bothering to look at him. "Karen, be a dear and go find the Uzumaki's file. We're need to get them updated." Karen nodded and walked to the door.

"I'll help you," Hinata said in a small voice. "I reorganized Kakashi's office this morning."

"Oh, thanks," Karen said, a little surprised, but she welcomed the offer. She didn't want to have to rumage through all that junk in Kakashi's room all by herself.

"Oh and Karen," Kakashi called after the two. "Also bring a new file for this new evidence."

"I was going to anyway," the red head retorted. She turned and followed Hinata out of the door, shutting it lightly. A few minutes passed before anyone said anything. Finally Sakura opened her mouth to speak.

"So, Kakashi," she began, "how are we going to investigate this case now since it's no longer just a normal crash incident?" Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"Hmm. I don't know. Sasuke's the one running the case," was the reply. "Sasuke?" The raven considered the questio. Carefully.

"We'll probably have to investigate where the Uzumaki's were before the incident," he started out saying, "and question those who saw them. The usual stuff."

"See, Haruno," Kakashi said, trying to keep a smile off his face, "that's why he's incharge."

"Are you implying something there, _Superintendent_ Hatake?" Sakura said, her voice rising slightly even though she was still smiling. Kakashi was about to reply when the door was suddenly slammed open. Neji Hyuuga stood in the doorway.

"Where's Hinata?" he demanded.

"Oh?" Kakashi said, completely calm. "I believe she just went with Karen to my office. Why? Do you want her?" Neji didn't reply but just walked out of the door.

"I think I'll go after him," Sakura said once the angry Hyuuga was out of earshot. "Besides, Karen is taking an awful long time to get those files." She ran out the door, calling Neji to wait. He did and they walked off to Kakashi's office together.

Sasuke stood from the bench.

"I think we'd had better get going too, Kakashi," he said, glancing at Naruto who nodded. Sasuke was just opening the door when a blood-curdling scream rang out around the station, causing people to stop in their tracks or to drop papers or files.

"That was Hinata," Sasuke said through gritted teeth as he ran down the hall in the direction of Kakashi's office, followed closely by Naruto.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, his face pale.

"I don't know." They finally came to Kakashi's office, Sasuke arriving first. He looked in and nearly gagged from the sight.

In one corner a frightened Hinata shook and on the ground lay two badly slashed bodies, blood covering the floor around them. One had red hair and the other pink.

"No...," Sasuke breathed as he ran over to the closest body and turned her over. Sakura's pale face looked up at him, her eyes closed, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Sasuke got up and went to the cupboard where he found a first aid box. Behind him he heard a thud and turned to see Naruto on his knees, staring at the scene. Sasuke gritted his teeth. He didn't want Naruto to see this. "Go wait outside," he said gently, "I'll deal with this." _Somehow_, he thought. But the blonde shook his head.

"No." Naruto stood and walked shakily over to Karen and checked her pulse. A shudder ran through his body. "She's...She's...," but he couldn't continue. Worried, Sasuke quickly bandaged the wounds that encompassed Sakura's chest, trying to move her as little as possible. He then walked over to where Naruto was kneeling next to Karen and used the remaining strips in her. He noticed that Naruto was shaking.

"I've called the hospital. They should be sending personnel here any minute now," a voice said behind them, making Sasuke and Naruto turn to see Kakashi in the door way. At his words a legion of white clad paramedics came swarming into the room. They deftly checked both girls over and lifted Sakura onto a stretcher they had ready. On Karen they placed a white cloth. "Sasuke," Kakashi said as the paramedics got ready to take both girls out of the room, "take Naruto and Hinata out of here."

"Yes sir." Sasuke reached over and shook Naruto's shoulder lightly. "C'mon." Still shaking, Naruto stood and the two of them walked to the door. "Hinata." At the mention of her name, Hinata's gaze snapped to Sasuke.

"There-there was a man in b-b-black," she stuttered as she sunk to the ground crying. "He grabbed one of Kakashi's swords," she pointed, her hand shaking, at the shelf where a few ornamental swords lay in stands. "Then he sla-" She couldn't continue and broke down into a fit of tears.

"Hinata!" The girl looked up at this voice.

"Neji-kun," she managed to say through her sobs. She ran to the dark haired man in the doorway. Neji caught her and wrapped his arms protectively around her.

"You police are incompetent!" he said angrily. "I'll take Hinata to the hospital myself." He then lead Hinata away, supporting her.

"Who's he?" Naruto asked.

"Her cousin," Sasuke replied, walking over to one of the paramedics who seemed to be in charge of the situation. "Will they be okay?" The paramedic looked around at him.

"The pink haired one's got a chance," he said gruffly, "she's in a stable condition, but we need to get her to intensive care right away." He turned and started to walk after the rest of his crew.

"Wait. What about Karen? The other one?" The paramedic stopped and turned around again to half face the raven.

"The red-head?" Sasuke nodded. "Sorry, kid, but there's nothing we can do for her now." He then turned and jogged after the rest of the white clad paramedics.

"Sasuke...?"

Sasuke didn't hear the Naruto, he was in a world of his own. He was in the reminiscing about the past. Never had Sasuke met such an annoying girl in his life. So obstinate and head-strong, she had confessed to him on the second day of training. He had turned her down since not only did he not know her, she was also his senior. _That stupid, _stupid_, girl_, he thought covering his eyes with his hand as he leaned against the wall, a lone tear trailing it's way down his cheek.

* * *

Yeah. So Karen's dead. What did you think of that? There are some parts where I think it's a bit jerky, but on the whole I think it turned out alright. Man, writing sad things tends to be my forte but it makes me just so damn sad! TAT. After writing that last paragraph, I didn't want Karen to die! TAT. Ah well. Next chap should come out soon enough.


	5. Unexpected

All ownership as stated on other chapters. This chapter is a bit longer than the others, though it wasn't my intention. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Chapter 5: Unexpected

A small group of girls walked through the gates of the school. As they did, they giggled and pointed at the raven-haired figure, slouching against one of the gates. Sasuke sighed and turned up the volume of his iPod. It was like school all over again. School hadn't really been that bad, but the fact that it brought up memories of Sakura and Karen, make it really hurt to remember.

Sasuke had just come straight from checking out the cafe that the Uzumaki's had dined at the day before on their way to the airport. He had found out some _very_ interesting things.

Another bell rang from within the school, making Sasuke look up. A blonde Naruto was running down the stairs in front of the school, a bag swinging hazardly from one shoulder.

"Sorry," Naruto gasped as he reached Sasuke. "Teacher wanted to keep me in for detention."

"Oh? Why aren't you in detention then?"

"Eh!?" Naruto looked away guiltily. "I climbed out of the window at the back when the teacher wasn't looking." He looked back to see what reaction this had on the raven. There was none. In fact, Sasuke was looking over Naruto's shoulder. Wondering why, Naruto looked back too and saw a middle aged man jogging toward them. It was his teacher. Sasuke tapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"I think it's time we went now." Naruto couldn't agree more. The two of them took off as the teacher neared them. As they neared the car, Sasuke quickly withdrew his keys, flipping for a time to come to the right one. He inserted the key into the door and ripped it open when it unlocked. Naruto did the same to the passenger side. Sasuke was about to reverse the car out of the parallel park when the teacher caught up with them. He was faster than he looked.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to Naruto?!" the teacher bellowed at Sasuke.

"Uh, what?"

"You're not kidnapping him are you?"

"Do I look like I am?" The teacher's level of anger increased considerably. Sasuke sighed. "I'm his legal guardian, alright?" This surprised the teacher.

"But you must be underage!" This comment irritated the raven far more that he had anticipated. He was forever pulling out his ID card to satisfy people that he was indeed old enough, and qualified, to drive a car. Or to drink alcohol for that matter. Not that he did that, although he had drunk the night before, mostly to knock himself out so that he didn't have to keep on rolling Karin's death over and over in his mind, but also as a dare from Naruto. Now Sasuke had a small hangover and was now in a horrible mood.

Sasuke scowled and reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew his wallet. He slid out his ID and waved it in front of the teacher's face.

"Happy yet?" The teacher, trying to retain some dignity, nodded slightly and briskly walked away. After the teacher had sufficiently gotten out of the way, Sasuke slammed on the accelerator and turned hard on the wheel, cursing the teacher as he did. "Who the hell was he?" Sasuke asked Naruto a little while later when they were cruising down the highway, toward the raven's flat.

"Oh? Mr Umino? He's just my history teacher," Naruto replied as he reached into his schoolbag and withdrew a bag of chips. "Want one? It's seaweed flavoured."

"Sure." There was a moment of silence. Naruto selected a few chips that fit together from the bag and turned to Sasuke.

"Open up."

"Hu-" as soon as Sasuke had opened his mouth to ask for clarification, Naruto had jammed the chips his mouth. "Wahh!" A few small bits fell from Sasuke's mouth. Deciding to preserve as much as he could, Sasuke instead closed his mouth and chewed. They tasted good. "Thanks," he said once he had managed to swallow.

"No problem," Naruto replied, accompanied with a massive grin. Sasuke sighed, making the blonde chuckle.

"So what's this 'Mr. Umino' teach you today?" Naruto waited to swallow his mouthful of chips before replying.

"We're doing a unit on the Middle Ages and Renaissance," Naruto said then glanced at Sasuke. "Today we learned about how people would assassinate for their own good using ... arsenic." Naruto looked out the window.

"It was one of those rare poisons, back then, that could go undetected. It was truly the poison of kings," said Sasuke, not really noticing what he was saying. He was just regurgitating the textbook answer he had learned at school. He didn't really want to let his mind sink back into the case just yet. It still stung badly, much worse than it had last night when the liquor had numbed his senses.

"Geez, Sasuke," said Naruto, finally breaking the silence. "How far away do you live anyway? We're been in car nearly fifteen minutes," he added jokingly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't diss it. It's cheap." This statement made Naruto laugh and Sasuke felt his heart lighten too. There was something about the blonde that made you want to just smile. He was like a miniature sun.

"So how was work today?" Naruto asked, a smile still playing around his mouth. "Man! It seems so long since I asked anyone that! I feel so old!" This time, Sasuke actually did laugh, though he did sense a feeling of sadness behind Naruto's joking words. _He must be really missing his family_, Sasuke thought.

"It was just he same usual stuff," replied Sasuke. "Write this report. Sign that form. That kind of thing."

"Sounds better than school."

"Hah. Maybe." There was a silence, though this one wasn't awkward, or rather as awkward, as the last.

"Hinata didn't come to school today," Naruto said, looking straight at Sasuke, the other, however, was concentrating on the road, trying to pass as many cars as he could without going over the limit or doing anything extremely illegal that would warrant a ticket. He _was_ a police officer after all.

"I think she's still staying at the hospital," Sasuke finally replied after coming to a stop at a red light.

"I thought she wasn't hurt."

"She isn't," the raven said as the traffic got moving again, "it's just her cousin thinks she should stay there longer. He's what you'd call overprotective to the extreme."

"That's not always a bad thing though."

"No, not always," Sasuke agreed. He was now turning into the street where the building that held his apartment stood, between a bakery and a small supermarket. It really was a good location, albeit, a bit far from anything else. Sasuke turned into an empty park on the side of the road and turned off the engine.

"Finally," Naruto breathed and Sasuke rolled his eyes. The blonde was really very impatient. Not completely unlike himself. The two got out of the car, Naruto dodging a stray bicicle as he crossed in front of the car to make it to the sidewalk. By the time he caught up with the raven, he had just finished keying in the code to the building and was now holding the door open. "Sorry, sorry," Naruto said hurriedly.

After they had confirmed with the guard downstairs that they had every right to be there, they stepped into the waiting lift which took them up to the twenty-sixth floor. They stepped out and Sasuke deftly used his key to unlock the door, kicking the door open.

Sasuke walked in first and proceeded to pull his key out of the lock and close the door, throwing a few inner locks for good measure. The other, strode in, tired from the day, and collapsed on the couch, making it sink a good few inches.

"Oi, careful with that couch. I don't wanna buy myself a reason to buy an actual bed," Sasuke chided as he walked to the kitchen and turned on the kettle. Naruto pouted and jumped off the abused, old couch.

"I'm gonna have a shower," Naruto said. Sasuke nodded as he came out of the kitchen, sitting down in front of his laptop that also sat on the ground, turning it on with a jab at the power button. The door to the bathroom latched shut and he looked back down at the screen of the computer, clicking on Word to open a new document. Sasuke sighed and started to write out the report that should have been handed in the day before. A few minutes passed before the door to the bathroom opened again revealing a half drowned Naruto. He had changed his clothes, but already the water had soaked through most of his shirt and his hair was a yellow, wet mess.

"Geez, Naruto!" exclaimed Sasuke, jumping up and grabbing a towel. "Have you ever heard of drying off before putting your clothes on?"

It took a few mintues sitting of in front of the fan and vigorous rubbing before Naruto started to return to normal.

"I feel drowned."

"You _look_ drowned," scolded the raven as he searched the towel for a dry spot to rub Naruto's hair with. "You're seriously hopless." This made Naruto laugh.

"And you're not?" Sasuke said nothing to this, which only made Naruto laugh more. But before he was able to say anything further, the door bell rang. Instantly, Naruto jumped off the stool he was sitting on and skipped to the door, starting to unlock the door. The door bell rang again and Naruto increased his fumbling.

"Coming, coming," Naruto called as the the bell rang yet a third time. Finding the proceedings far more interesting than waiting for Naruto to return to the stool, Sasuke abandoned the towel and instead chose to walk to the kitchen and pour himself a glass of orange juice. There was no way he was going to drink anymore alcohol for a while after the hangover he had had that morning. Finally Naruto got the last undone and twisted the door handle.

In the doorway stood a masked man dressed fulling in black. An ornamental samurai sword at his hip, his right hand hovering over the handle.

"You!" the man hissed and drew the sword, trying to slash Naruto as he did. Acting apon instinct, Naruto ducked backward and avoided the blow. His foot caught on a stray power lead and he fell with full force on his back. The man raised the sword again.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke ran to the intercept the sword as it swung down. The sword dug deep into flesh, drawing tendrils of blood that dripped to the ground. Naruto gasped and the sword withdrew from Sasuke's outstretched hand which had protected the blonde from harm. Blood oozed out of the cut that ran from Sasuke's forefinger all the way down to near the middle of his forearm.

Sasuke swore lightly as he saw the extent of the wound. He then brutally kicked the masked man in the stomach, sending him flying into the wall opposite the door on the other side of the corridor. The man slumped down the wall, clutching his stomach, blood running out the side of his mouth. He groaned as he got up and ran down the corridor, Sasuke and Naruto giving chase.

"Wait!"

But by the time they rounded the corner at the end of the passage, they found it empty. Sasuke swore colourfully, though still holding his injured hand.

After making sure that the man wasn't hiding in some obscure place so as to return and complete the job, the two made their way back to Sasuke's flat. Now Naruto was using a metal latch to fasten the bands of bandage to themselves so that it wouldn't unravel off of Sasuke's hand and arm. Naruto gingerly turned Sasuke's hand over so that he could check the quality of the binding there, making Sasuke twitch slightly.

"Sorry," apologized Naruto. Sasuke shook his head but said nothing. The binding passed inspection and Sasuke clenched his hand to check it and found it was in fine order, despite the wound it had sustained. He smirked.

"Well, that just about proves my theory right," he said getting up, still flexing his arm. Naruto's eyebrows knitted together.

"What theory?" Sasuke shook his head.

"I can't be one hundred percent sure right now, but I'm pretty sure I know who's behind all this. But I need to get some hard evidence."

"What? How?" At these questions Sasuke used his good hand and tossled Naruto's hair.

"Well firstly, we're going to have to go to the hospital."

* * *

How was it? The last part was a bit rushed, but I think it came out alright. My friend kept on buggin me. I hope that was enjoy able and not too hard to understand. CHEERS!


	6. Revelations

Last chapter! Except for the epilogue. All ownership as stated in previous chapters. I really hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 6: Revelations

It did not take Sasuke and Naruto long to drive over to the hospital, but the trip seemed to be much longer since neither of them spoke a word. Naruto glanced at Sasuke's hand for the umpteenth time, and Sasuke sighed.

"It's really fine," the raven said. He took his injured hand off the wheel and flexed it a few times. "See?" Still Naruto looked worried.

"I'm sorry," he said finally, still looking at the hand. "It's my fault that your hand got sliced up. If I hadn't come or if I hadn't opened the doo-"

"Shh," interrupted Sasuke, using a finger to silence the blonde. "I chose to grab that frikkin blade, so that one isn't your fault. And about you coming, I could have put in a form to get rid of you, but I didn't, so that one's also not your fault." He reached out and brought his hand down lightly on the blonde's head. "I really appreciate you being here." This comment made Naruto happier. He grinned and brushed Sasuke's hand off his head.

"It's nice to be wanted," the blonde said, his face obscured.

"Yea." There was silence as the car pulled into the car park of the hospital. It took a good ten minutes to find a park, but once they did, it was only a quick walk to the hospital building. Once they were inside, Sasuke went over to a flower shop and bought a small bouquet of tulips.

"What are they for?" Asked Naruto, gesturing to the flowers.

"You usually bring flowers for someone in hospital right?" replied the raven, but before Naruto could ask what he meant, Sasuke walked over to the reception desk. "Hi, I'm here to visit Sakura Haruno. Would you happen to know what department she's in, and maybe her room number?"

The lady at the reception, after greeting them, immediately consulted her computer and after a few minutes of frantic tapping, she wrote something of a piece of paper and handed it to Sasuke. He looked down at it, reading what it said, then thanked the lady. He then walked to one of the elevators and pressed the 'up' button.

"So, why are we visiting Sakura?" Naruto asked once they were in the lift, hurtling up to the twenty-fifth floor.

"I need to confirm something with her," replied Sasuke. "If I can do that, then my theory becomes fact, but before that, it's just a that, a theory. I need the solid evidence of a witness." Naruto was going to ask him something more, but again he was interrupted, this time, however, the interruption came from an old man who had come in at the fourteenth floor. Finally the elevator reached the right floor and the two of them stepped out, the old man had gotten off at the floor before.

After getting out of the elevator, Sasuke quickly glanced at the paper the receptionist had given him then struck out left. Finally stopped at the door that read 25-115 and knocked.

"Come in," said an unmistakable voice from inside and Sasuke opened the door to reveal Saskura sitting up in the bed, countless bandages wrapping her and two IV drips one connected to each hand. She smiled when she saw them. "This is a surprise," she said. Sasuke half-smiled and placed the flowers into a waiting vase, Naruto sat on the stool next to Sakura's bed.

"How are you?" the blonde asked. Sakura shrugged.

"Alright, I guess. But I bet the doctors would say differently. They even had to give me a blood transfusion." Naruto glanced as Sasuke at the mention of this foreign word, but Sasuke seemed preoccupied. "So what can I do for you?" Sakura asked, her question directed mainly at the raven.

"Sorry, but I'm going to need to have you try and recount what happened yesterday," he replied. Sakura grimaced.

"I've been trying to remember ever since I woke up after the anesthetic wore off, but I can't remember much." She smiled weakly.

"Can I ask you some questions about it then?"

"By all means."

"Was there a masked assailant in the room?" Sakura cocked her head, considering the question.

"Not that I can remember, but I do seem to recall that I was attacked from behind, so I guess there could have been." Sasuke nodded, pausing a little before continuing interrogation.

"Do you remember how you were attacked?"

"I think they first covered my mouth, since I tried to scream," Sakura said, a little pain evident in her voice. "After that it just goes black."

Sasuke nodded again, then tapped Naruto on the shoulder, indicating they were done here.

"Thanks for answering our questions. I think we'll stop bothering you now." Sakura laughed.

"No, no, I'm glad you two came," Sakura said, waving as they both exited. Once they were outside, Naruto turned to Sasuke.

"What was that all about?" he asked as he pressed the elevator button to go down. It arrived and they stepped in, pressing the 'G' button. The door closed and they started to move down.

"I was confirming my theory," was Sasuke's reply. And when Naruto tried to press him further he said nothing, saying that he was going to tell everyone later that day. This made the blonde pout.

"Fine. So where are we going now? The station?"

"Yeah. I need to find that damned sword," Sasuke replied, anger creeping in at the mention of the sword. The elevator doors opened and they walked out into the reception, out of the automatic doors and into the car park. It did not take them long to find the car and get out of the car park. And soon they were cruising along the highway to the police station. They soon arrived as it was a shorter distance to the police station than to Sasuke's flat.

Again, they walked past the security guard for the second day in a row, assuring him that they were suppose to be there. Sasuke and Naruto then entered the building. It was a much calmer atmosphere that day. There were still the throngs of people, but this time they weren't running around frantically. Sasuke turned to Naruto.

"Can you help me with something?" he asked.

"Of course," replied Naruto, "what is it?"

"I need you to help me find the sword." This surprised Naruto.

"The sword?" he asked, confused as to what Sasuke meant. "You mean the sword that the masked man used yesterday, or the one that... er... injured Sakura?"

"Both."

"Huh?"

"Well," Sasuke said, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his phone, "they're the same sword, just not the same wielder." Naruto still looked confused. "I'll explain it all when everyone gets here." Sasuke then dialed in a number and talked briskly to the person on the other end of the phone, ensuring that they were be there in an hour. Naruto then watched Sasuke call a number of other people, all of them agreeing to be there. Finally Sasuke ended the last call.

"Now to find that sword," he said, almost to himself. And the two of them began their search.

--

Approximatly an hour later, a group of people were now assembled, sitting on various chairs and the like, in Kakashi's office. On the desk sat Sasuke, the newly found sword lying next to him covered by a black cloth. Naruto sat near him on a chair. Before him, nearly everyone who was involved was there. Obviously, neither Karin, being dead, nor Sakura were there, however, Kakashi, Neji and Hinata were, as were Kurenai, who was filling in for Sakura. Sasuke had asked her here as a way to make sure the murderer doesn't get away.

"So I suppose the police have finally stopped chasing their own tail and now know who did it, huh?" Neji said leeringly. He was standing next the chair that Hinata sat in. "So what have you to say? Out with it." Sasuke smirked.

"Do you really want to know?" the raven replied back. "Fine then. I won't beat around the bush. The person who organized and carried out the murder of Minato and Kushina Uzumaki was ... H-""

"What?!" yelled Neji. "What is this?! Some form of police trickery? There is no way Hinata committed this murder!!"

"Oh? I never actually said Hinata did it, but seeing as you dislike the idea so much, then yes, it was Hinata."

"Wait, Sasuke," Kakashi started to say, "are you really saying it was Hinata?"

"Yes. I am," came Sasuke's curt reply. "And I might as well add that her accomplice was Neji Hyuuga."

"No!" Hinta cried. "Neji had nothing to do with the Uzumakis! He just -" but a hand rested on her shoulder, stopping her from continuing.

"When I first saw you, I knew you were incompetent," Neji said, anger dripping from his voice, "but this is-"

"What?" Naruto said, finally speaking. "The truth? You already killed my parents! You have no right to lie about it!"

"Wait, but," Kurenai said, "how can this be? How did she do it?" This last part was addressed solely at Sasuke.

"Arsenic," Sasuke said simply. Hinata flinched at the word. "Before the crash, the Uzumakis made a stop at a cafe. Hinata so happened to work at it so she met and served the family. There was a conversation, and she found out that Naruto was moving." Sasuke looked straight at Hinata, but the girl only flinched again and stared down into her lap. "But you couldn't have that, could you? No one was aloud to take Naruto away from you, right?" Hinata was now crying. "So she added some weed killer that contained arsenic into the drinks of Minato and Kushina. They left not knowing what you had done."

"I-I didn't mean it," Hinata said through sobs. "I didn't want Naruto to go away. He couldn't..." Sasuke glanced at Naruto to find that he eyes were wide open in surprise. _And so he finds out_, Sasuke thought.

"Then after realizing what you had done," Sasuke continued, "you call your good cousin Neji and tell him what happened. Realizing the implications of what his cousin had done, Neji quickly drives over to the cafe and gives chase after the Uzumakis. They take a short cut and end up in front of them. You, Hinata, then hide in a bush and jump out at their car as it comes by, causing them to crash." Hinata moaned louder.

"You have no evidence!" accused Neji.

"Actually, I have the testimony of three of the workers at the cafe, who all testify to everything I have just said," Sasuke replied. "Except for the last part. I had to use some imagination for that."

"You-" But Neji was interupted by Kakashi.

"What about Karin and Sakura? Did Hinata have a role in that?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Yesterday, during the presentation, Karin was asked to get files from Kakashi's office. Hinata seized the opportunity, and went with her where she brutally murdered Karin." At this last part, Sasuke's voice caught a little, but only Naruto noticed. The blonde looked worriedly at the other, who gave him a ghost of a smile.

"But what was her motive?" Kurenai asked.

"Again, her motive was love," came Sasuke's reply, "just earlier that morning both Hinata and Karin came over to my flat. During that time, I noticed Hinata had seen Karin's strange obsession with Naruto. It was really nothing, but Hinata saw it as something more. Obviously, she had to dispose of her."

"That's-" Neji started to say, but again, Kakashi cut him off.

"Continue, Sasuke," he said. Sasuke nodded and continued.

"A little while later, Neji came, looking for Hinata. He was then told that she was in Kakashi's office with Karin. Now, Neji knew that Hinata suspected Karin for a deeper like for Naruto than just friendship, and now he feared that she was going to kill again. So he went to look for her. But what he didn't count into the equation was Sakura.

"Apon arriving at the office, Neji and Sakura both witness Hinata killing Karin. Sakura is about to scream, when Neji grabs her from behind, knocks her out, then uses the sword to slash her. Neji then takes the sword and hides it, and Hinata screams to alert us to what has happened. We turn up and she feeds us this story about a masked man. This ploy also gives her a pretty fine alibi." Again Neji scoffed at the idea.

"But there was a masked man," Naruto said suddenly. "He attacked us this afternoon." The room gave a little gasp.

"True," was Sasuke's reply. "He did attack us. However, even though that man was real, the one that Hinata claimed to see was one hundred percent fake. The person who dressed up in all black was playing on the story that Hinata said, not only to further his own interests, but to also give more weight to what the girl's story."

"Naruto-kun was attacked?" Hinata said in a small voice. "Who?" Neji then grasped Hinata by the shoulders and attempted to make her stand.

"We don't have time to listen to this rubbish," he said, leading Hinata to the door.

"Oh, why are you in such a hurry to get out of here?" Sasuke asked. "Worried that I got it right?" Neji froze. "Heh. I thought so." Sasuke then picked up the sword next to him and started to pick the knots that kept the cloth in place. "The person who dressed up as the masked man today, was you, Neji."

"What?!" Hinata exclaimed, whirling around to face Neji. "YOU attacked Naruto?!" Neji tried to stutter something but Sasuke cut over him.

"He did," he said, not even trying to keep the anger out of his voice. "He tried to kill Naruto. Why? Because he was causing you unlimited pain through his lack of love for you, and he had made you a murderer."

"That's preposterous! You have no evidence!" Neji exclaimed.

"No evidence?" Sasuke asked. "Tell that to the forensics group that found your fingerprints on this sword!" He ripped the cloth off, revealing the sword. "The only reason why they'd be there, is if you used it. There's no other explanation."

"But why would he want to kill him?" Hinata cried, grabbed the front of Neji's shirt. "WHY?!" There was a silence and nothing moved. Finally Neji opened his mouth.

"Because I love you," Neji said slowly, his voice devoid of emotion. "I love you more than anything. Anything! And that bastard," he pointed at Naruto, "he didn't care about you at all!" Neji looked down at the crying Hinata. "You may have tried to hide it, but I saw the pain he caused you. Again and again you tried to get his love, but again and again he failed to see it." The man fell silence.

"Neji..." The name escaping from Hinata's mouth. "Neji..." The girl fell into his chest and his arms wrapped around her.

"I'm sorry," Neji whispered, only just audible. He then gasped, reeling back, blood pouring out of a wound in his stomach. "Hina...ta," he managed to gasped before collapsing on the floor.

"Neji!" Kurenai and Kakashi ran forward, Kakashi propping him up on his knee. The man coughed blood and flopped back again. Naruto was about to move forward too but a hand on his should stopped him.

"Careful," Sasuke whispered, nodding at Hinata. There was a small knife in the girl's hand. Blood dripped off it and ran onto her hands. Hinata raised one hand and inspected it, giggling.

"Blood..." Hinata said, giggling again. "Neji, you're such a fool. I always knew you loved me. Still, that doesn't justify you trying to kill Naruto. You should die for that!" She walked over to Neji, barely conscious, and the two unarmed police officers, and raised the knife above her head, intending to make the final blow. A hand wrapped around Hinata's wrist, preventing her arm from moving.

"Stop it!" Naruto ordered, increasing the pressure on her wrist so that she dropped the knife. It fell and dug into the floor with a soft thud. A bandaged hand reached down, pulling it out with a twang. Sasuke then held it up and inspected it.

"Interesting," he said as he reached inside his pocket and drew out a black wallet looking object. He then flipped it open to reveal his police badge. "Hinata Hyuuga, you are under arrest for the murder of Minato and Kushina Uzumaki and Karin Nakazato," he said, raising up the badge. Hinata tried to twist out of Naruto's grip, but he held her fast. Sasuke then handed him a pair of handcuffs and Naruto used them to bind Hinata's hands behind her back.

Sasuke walked over to the broken figure of Neji and crouched down beside him.

"Neji Hyuuga, you are under arrest for aiding and abetting Hinata Hyuuga in the murder of Minato and Kushina Uzumaki, and for the attempted murder of Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki," he said quietly. "Kakashi, can you get those paramedics to come around again?" Kakashi nodded and left the room to call them, leaving Kurenai in charge of looking after Neji.

Soon the paramedics came along with some officers from another department and Neji, who was taken away on a stretcher, and Hinata, in cuffs. The case was finally at an end. Sasuke sighed and sat down heavily on the floor, resting his head on his knee. Naruto dropped down next to him.

"You okay?" Sasuke looked up at him.

"Yeah. I'm just really tired." Naruto laughed.

--

_Glass walls. That's what surrounds me. I see everything, but in the end I'm just a spectator. I never get involved. That is my world. A world with only me in it. Only me. I until I met you._

* * *

The END!! Well, I'm going to write an epilogue, this is basically the end of the story. How was it? Did you expect what happened? Please tell me if there are any inconsistancies. Cheers!


	7. Epilogue

Here is the official kind of ending. It's just the epilogue. All ownership as stated in previous chapters. I'm going to make a sequal to this story, but I'm not sure when I'll start writing it.

* * *

The crowd was clearing and now it was actually possible to see the head stones. They were both marble. Naruto walked up to the larger one and, crouching, he ran his hand over the cool stone. It read _Minato & Kushina Uzumaki – Missed but not forgotten_ then the years of their life. Behind him, Sasuke rubbed his eyes. He hadn't had enough sleep in the last few days after the case had been concluded. What with reports to write and statements to be said to the media.

It had been a fairly small funeral. Only people who directly knew the three attended along with the people that had been involved in the case. All were there, except Hinata and Neji. They had been sent to appear before a court. Even Sakura had been able to make it, albeit, since she was still recovering, she had to be in a wheelchair.

Sasuke let his hand drop and looked at the other grave beside the Uzumaki's. _Karin Nakazato – Good Friend and Colleague_. Naruto stood and dropped two lilies onto his parent's grave. He then turned to Sasuke then half smiled.

"You look like a lost kitten, Sasuke," the blonde said. Sasuke smirked.

"I feel like one," was his response and not waiting for the blonde to react to what he said, he slung his arm over Naruto's shoulder. "Let's go home." Naruto grinned and nodded.

And the two walked back over the grassy hill, leaving the cemetary behind them, and towards their brightening futures.

* * *

That was reallly short. Probably the shortest thing in the whole story. I guess it's a good thing it's just the epilogue. I really hope you enjoyed reading this story. Cheers!


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